Fairy Tale
by TheWindAlchemist
Summary: A royal Christmas Party, a missed childhood friend, runaway princes, tomboyish princesses, love at second sight, a prince charming... PeinKonan DeiHina HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

**Fairy Tale**

This story is like an alternate universe for Childhood Memories. It has almost all the characters from that story only with different roles.

But you can expect PeinKonan and DeiHina to stay. 'Cuz I'm an obsessed fangirl that way.

Chapter 1

Konan took out the flower accessory in her hair and put it on the desk in front of her and sighed. It was another boring day at the castle. Another boring day of listening to her drunk father rant on about executing more clearly innocent people. Another boring day of meeting new princes from far away lands, which spent months traveling land and sea just to meet her.

She could care less.

Konan threw off the painfully uncomfortable dress onto the floor and flopped onto her bed with nothing but her undershirt and the baggy shorts that her father said not to wear. Whoops.

Turning to her side she found that a piece of paper had made its way onto the bed. She accidentally crumpled its edges. Taking the paper onto her lap, she smoothed it out and automatically started folding it.

"Ah! A pretty little crane! Does it move?" Asked a voice beside her. Konan jumped slightly. It was just one of the maids: Hinata Hyuga. "Uh… no. It's not supposed to, I think." Konan said, regaining her composure. She shoved the crane into Hinata's hands. "Keep it. I don't want it." She murmured, taking a pillow and resting her head on its soft surface.

Hinata and Konan were actually very good friends. Hinata's family had been serving Konan's for generations. Konan found that Hinata was a very good person to talk to when you had problems; something she had a lot. When she had a problem, Hinata would always listen and try to help in the best way she could. But recently, most of Konan's problems revolved around her father and the uninteresting princes she had to meet.

A paper crane flew in front of Konan's eyes. She gasped and followed the crane with her eyes.

"Pretty cool, isn't it?" Hinata laughed. The crane gracefully landed on the pillow next to Konan. "How'd you do that?" She asked. "Magic." Hinata smiled. "Psh. No such thing." Konan lay down beside the pillow and looked at Hinata.

A knock was heard at the door to her room.

"Hinata! You're late for the staff meeting again!" a man's voice called. "Ah! Oh no, not again!" Hinata quickly got up, bowed slightly to Konan, and made her way to the door.

The man poked his head into the room to reveal that it was Neji. "Excuse me, Konan-sama." He said, nodding his head. "Konan. Call me _Konan_." Konan called to him, the smallest hint of annoyance in her voice. "You are of a higher social status of me, so therefore I must call you accordingly." Neji recited. "Whatever… Go on ahead to the meeting or whatever…" Konan dismissed.

"Ack! Come on, Hinata! We're already 10 minutes late!" Neji grabbed Hinata's arm and started running down the halls. There was a moment of silence. Then, Konan heard the scolding Neji and Hinata were getting from the head chief, Hiashi Hyuga.

-:-

"Alright, as you all know, the Christmas Masquerade Ball is coming up. We still have yet to plan out who has what responsibility, what we're cooking, and what decorations will be hung up." Hiashi explained.

"Hinata!" He snapped. Hinata winced when he sharply said her name. "Since you _and _

_Neji_ came late, you shall get the most difficult job." She inwardly groaned. "Well, once we decide on which job is the most difficult. THEN! Then, you shall receive that responsibility." Hiashi added after a moment of thinking it over.

"Neji!" Neji also winced slightly as he snapped out his name. "You shall be paired to work with the person you most hate to work with as punishment for being late!" Hiashi said. Neji only sighed.

After dividing responsibilities, Hinata was stuck with making invitations for each individual guest for the party. And there were over 50 people on that list.

Neji got stuck with worse. He had to work on entertainment with little Hanabi, his younger cousin who was still in that age where My Little Pony was the sub-religion of her age group. No doubt that he would be caught on stage in a_ horrible_-quality costume with _Horrible_ woven into every stitch.

-:-

"_You two should be ashamed of yourselves! You know better than to get into fights like that!" An adult scolded two children in chairs. "And you, Konan! You, of all people! You're grounded for a week for this!" Konan gave the man an indifferent face. _

"_And this young man here, what is your name?" He was referring to the boy in the other chair to Konan's right. "Pein." Pein spat. He didn't understand why he was here. _She_ was the one who started the fight. _

_The man gasped. "Pein, the one from the kingdom in the north? The heir to the throne, Pein-sama?" He asked. "Damn straight!" Pein grinned. _

"_Young man, watch your language. I'll have to call your parents for this." The man left, patting the head of another little girl on the way. "Go out and play, alright?" he said to the girl. "Yes, father." _

_The girl watched him leave before going up to Konan. _

"_What happened, Konan-chan?" She asked timidly, placing a hand on Konan's swollen cheek. "I got in a fight." Konan said. But she smiled. "But, I won!" the little girl giggled and looked at Pein. _

"_Hi! I'm Hinata Hyuga. What's your name?" Hinata asked. "I'm Pein. Nice to meetcha, Hinata-chan!" Pein vigorously shook her hand. Konan laughed. _

"_Pein-sama! You're car is here to pick you up!" The man called. _

_Pein slid off his chair and headed for the door. Looking back at the two girls he said, _

"_You know, one day I'll see you at a Mask-parade Ball and we'll get married." Konan blushed slightly. "I bet you say that to just any girl you meet!" She shouted at him. " "No I don't! Until then, Konan-chan." Pein said coolly. _

"_Konan-chan, you're beet red!" Hinata poked her cheek. "SH-Shut up! I'm gonna go clean up, and you're helping! Come on!" Konan grabbed her arm and stormed off to the bathroom. _

Konan's eyes blinked open. She must've fallen asleep. _What was that… just now?_ She asked herself, rubbing her eyes. Sure, she remembered that day, her first fist fight, and her first time meeting that boy. But, since that was still a dream-her memory just now- his name was a little blurry in her head. What really puzzled her was the fact that she was really remembering that time now.

Just then, Hinata walked in, carrying an armful of papers and art supplies. "Konan, can I work here in your room?" She asked, dropping all the stuff on the flat part of the bed. She looked up at her. "Just wake up from a nap? It's almost dinnertime." She said. Konan just nodded. Immediately, Hinata started to work on those invitations.

"What're those for?" She asked Hinata, reading over the list of names. One of the names caught her eye: "King of the North, Dein." Was Dein the boy in her dream? If she was correct, the King of the North from when she was a kid died 3 years later. Did the boy inherit the throne after his death?

Hinata's voice tore her away from her thoughts. "Konan, I need that list for a second." She said. "Ah. Sorry." Konan muttered, stretching. "You should get ready for dinner soon. It's in 5 minutes." Hinata said. "Are you coming?" Konan asked her. "If I want any ounce of free time, I'll have to skip again to finish these. Sorry." Hinata smiled.

"I'll sneak you up a plate of food." Konan said, pulling on a T-shirt and some jeans. That wasn't what her father told her to wear to dinner. Whoops again.

"Won't you get in trouble?" Hinata asked worriedly. "Nah. I'll just go down there and say I wanna eat in my room. No biggie." Konan winked at her before closing the door to her room.

What they were serving for dinner didn't interest her at all. It involved seafood, vegetables, and bleu cheese. Ugh, she _hated_ all that. Shoving it all into one meal made it worse. She was pretty sure that Hinata didn't like this stuff as much as she did, so she decided to sneak out to get some… well, normal people food. As she called it, anyway.

-:-

"Pein, whatcha lookin' at?" A man with silver hair and purple eyes asked another man with auburn hair and peircings on the bridge of his nose. He looked over his shoulder to find that he was looking at a picture of a prince. "He looks like you, y'know?" He commented, grabbing the picture to take a better look.

"HEY! Hidan! Give it back!" Pein yelled. Hidan stuck out his tongue. "Pbbblt! Gimme, Gimme, never gets!" He taunted. "I didn't even _say_ that!!" Pein reached for the picture but Hidan kept moving it out of reach.

"This is you when you were still the heir to the throne, no?" The chase led to the kitchen, where Hidan swiftly grabbed a snack while avoiding Pein in his futile attempts at grabbing the picture.

"You look weird without peircings. I say you look better now." Hidan twirled around the coffee table as Pein tripped over it. Finally, he got bored of the picture and threw it at Pein, who just growled at him.

"If I recall, you had a certain blue-haired princess in your mind at the time, correct?" Hidan asked. Pein blushed slightly, then huffed. "N-Not anymore! Hell, I don't even know where she is anymore! We were just friends as kids and that's it!" He said hastily, throwing the picture on his bed in his room.

Hidan shoved a flyer in his face. "The king is hosting A Christmas Masquerade Ball. I hear that it's to find the princess," He held up a picture of Konan. "A prince to marry. Too bad you backed out beforehand; you could've taken a shot at it." Hidan let the two papers drop to the floor. The picture of Konan landed in Pein's lap. "She look familiar?" Hidan asked, making his way to the kitchen.

Pein stared at the picture. Now that he thought about it, Princess Konan looked familiar- extremely familiar. He compared the picture to his sweetheart from his childhood. Blue hair, pretty eyes, somewhat of a tomboy, and her signature flower in her hair.

Striking resemblance, but she probably forgot about him already.

Suddenly, a "HIDAN!! DON'T TOUCH THAT!!" was heard across the house. "What's this, Sasori? Another doll?" Hidan asked mockingly. "No! It's an action figure! Give it back!" Sasori yelled. "Action figure, doll, what's the difference? I mean, Barbie's seen a lot of action, if you know what I mean. Hehe…" Hidan laughed.

"Hidan, quit making this place a living hell." Another voice said. By his tone of voice, the man was angry. "Oh, come on, Kakuzu! Just having a little fun!" Hidan said nonchalantly. "Hey, Sasori, is that a doll?" Kakuzu asked. "IT'S A FREAKING ACTION FIGURE!!" Sasori yelled.

There was a loud thud, and then a crashing noise. _Oh god… what are they doing to my house now?_ Pein asked himself. "Kakuzu's paying for anything that breaks!" He called to them.

"WHAT!? Hidan! Put that down now, before I have to pay for it!" Kakuzu yelled, wrestling Hidan for whatever he was about to break. Shuffling sounds were heard, and then the crashing of a lamp. "NOOOOOOOooooo…..!!!"

Pein sighed. Maybe a walk would cool him down a bit. Shoving the picture in his pocket, he headed out the door.

"Where are _you_ going?" A man with red eyes asked. "Out. I'll be back with dinner, I guess." Pein replied, not even looking at him. "Alright. See ya."

He sighed again, pulling the jacket closer to his body. It was almost winter now, and the Christmas season was already in the air.

Usually when he went out on walks like this, it was to reflect on his life so far. So far, he was born, raised in a castle, met a girl with blue hair, accidentally got into a fight with some other thugs his age, won the fight _thanks_ to the girl, grew up, ran away, and started living in a small house that was supposed to house 9 people. Plus, those nine people were also runaway princes from far away kingdoms, just like him.Pretty good, right?

"Oh god, my life sucks." Pein muttered under his breath. As if the world were trying to make him feel bad, it started snowing. "Feh. Perfect. Just perfect."

Suddenly, he bumped into someone and fell to the ground. "Ack! Hey! Watch where you're…" Pein looked over at the person he bumped into and noticed that it was a girl. A lady, to be exact.

"Rrgh… why dontcha watch where _you're_ going! Sheesh! Now me and my friend's dinner is all crappified on the ground!" The girl yelled. Pein picked up one of the food items. "Pocky, cheese, and bread is your dinner?" He asked, suppressing a giggle.

"I love Pocky! And cheese! And bread! Leave me be!" The girl got up and grabbed the food from him, the hood of her jacket falling off. Pein's eye widened slightly. Pretty eyes that were slightly blocked by blue locks of hair met with his.

"What?" She asked. "P-Princess-!" Pein started. But her hand clasped over his mouth. "Shut _up!_ Nobody needs to know that I'm here. Alright?" She whispered harshly.

Konan's dark tone turned into a happy, calm one. "You look familiar. You going to the Christmas Ball at the castle?" She asked. "Maybe. I'm not really gonna fit in with the crowd, if you know what I mean." Pein motioned to his clothing. "I see. Well, all you really need is a grand entrance, and people will see you as one of them."

Konan glanced at her watch. "Yikes. Gotta go. Almost time for bed." Pein snorted. "Haha, you have a bedtime." He laughed. Konan punched him in the gut. "It's called a curfew. Now if you don't mind, I have to go eat my dinner of Pocky, cheese, and rice." With that, she walked away.

Pein, who quickly regained his composure, let go of the breath he didn't know he was holding. "I know that kind of punch anywhere…" He muttered, clutching his stomach. "That was… Konan."

Now, it didn't look much like it, but Pein knew from the very time they bumped into each other that she was Konan. It was the talking part he was worried about. Luckily for him, it went relatively well, aside from the punch in the gut.

He glanced back at her. She was wearing baggy jeans and a gray hoodie. She really was the tomboy he knew as a kid. "Tch. She could've bought me dinner as an apology. She's freaking rich, for god's sake…" He thought, annoyed. Sighing, he continued on his way, looking for dinner to bring home.

-:-

When Konan got home, she saw that Hinata had fallen asleep on the invitations… and drooled on some of them as well. Walking over to her, she gently shook her awake.

"Eh… No mommy, I can't eat another bite…" Hinata muttered in her sleep. "Fine then, no Pocky for you." Konan responded. Hinata shot up, wide awake. "Konan!" She squeaked. In the time it took Hinata to respond, Konan had already taken four slices of bread, put cheese on it, and on her own sandwich put a few sticks of Pocky over the cheese. …Ew.

"Do you want Pocky sandwich, or just cheese on bread?" Konan asked, taking a bite out of her Pocky sandwich. "N-No thanks… I'm fine with cheese only." Hinata said. "Hm. Alright, your loss." Konan grinned.

"So, did you meet anyone in town?" Hinata asked, just noticing the drool-covered mess she made over the invitations. She hurried to remake them as she listened to Konan.

"Mm… Yeah. Kinda." Konan said indifferently. "Who?" Hinata asked curiously. "Some guy with a lot of peircings. He looked familiar but… Nah. I don't think we know him." She finished her Pocky sandwich and brushed the crumbs away.

Konan looked out the window to see a blonde man with a ponytail outside the castle gate.

-:-

Alright. A few things before I end the chapter.

"Dein" is a name that refers to the second revealed body of Pein.

Konan is a princess. Hinata and the other Hyugas are the butlers/maids.

Pein's group is all the Akatsuki except for Deidara.

Pein and Konan were friends while they were kids. That flashback was the last time they ever saw each other, and he left her with a strange remark.

Pein's other bodies (as revealed in some recent chapters) are his brothers.

Konan and Hinata are best friends.

Deidara will show up in the next chapter.

And, Hidan and Kakuzu are related.

Now, I shall explain something I feel I haven't.

Pein, Hidan, Kakuzu, Sasori, Itachi, Kisame, Tobi, Madara, and Zetsu are all runaway princes from different kingdoms. They all just happened to wind up in the same place.

They're just getting by on the money Kakuzu earns everyday.

If you still don't get anything, just ask, I guess.


	2. Chapter 2

**Fairy Tale**

I think I forgot to write this in the first chapter…

I don't own Naruto. But if you do, then please give me Akatsuki, Team 8, and Shikamaru.

Chapter 2

"Konan?" Hinata looked at Konan, who was staring out the window. "Hey, do you know that guy?" Konan asked, nodding to the blonde guy outside the gate. Hinata peered down at the guy. She shook her head no. "But, I finished the invitations! Look!" Konan glanced at the invitations then stared blankly out the window, ignoring the man outside. "That's nice." Her mind was still occupied remembering what Dein looked like then and what he looked like now. Hinata huffed. "Well, I guess I'll go turn these in now." She said, walking out of the room.

_Dein… Dein… Somehow, that name doesn't seem right…_

Konan heard a car door open and close. She remembered then that today was this meeting of kingdoms that took place once a year. Her father was probably going to attend. Probably another advertisement for the Christmas Ball –To find her a prince that she probably would never like.

-:-

When Hinata entered Hiashi's office, she noticed that the blonde guy she and Konan saw outside was there. "Ah, Hinata. Perfect timing. Are you finished with those invitations?" Hiashi asked. Hinata nodded, blushing when the blonde looked at her. _He's really good looking…_ She thought, placing the invitations on his desk.

"Hinata, since you finished your part of the Christmas Ball early, why don't you show Deidara here around?" Hiashi told her. Hinata nodded, glancing at Deidara, who just grinned. "Then, afterward, you two can work on the decorations for the Christmas Ball." Hiashi said. "Putting me to work already, huh?" Deidara laughed. Hiashi gave him a small chuckle. _Deidara-san has a nice laugh…_ Hinata thought, blushing.

When the laughter stopped, Hinata spoke up and said, "Well, it's a big castle. Better show you around now!" She said, smiling. "Alrighty!" Deidara said. "Gotta change into uniform first, I think." He added. Hinata nodded and led him to a nearby bathroom to change.

Hinata waited patiently out of the bathroom beside Hiashi's office. The door opened and Deidara walked out wearing a fresh new uniform. She gasped. He looked so handsome in the suit. He noticed Hinata staring at him and smiled. "Well? How does it look?" he asked. Hinata was silent, her face dark red. "Hm?" Deidara said.

"I-It looks… r-really great on you, Deidara-san…" Hinata started fidgeting under his soft gaze. "Thanks, uh… what was your name again?" Deidara asked. "Uh… H-Hinata Hyuga. Just call me Hinata." She said, extending out a hand. "I'll go and show you around now, alright?" she smiled. Deidara happily took the hand and squeezed it gently. "Yup!" The two walked down the hall, Deidara automatically telling her about himself. She only nodded and smiled.

-:-

"_Another fight, huh?" A boy with a ponytail asked Pein. They were sitting across from each other in the car. "I won!" Pein huffed, rubbing the sore spot on his cheek. _

"_I heard that you met a girl. Was she cute?" Another boy asked. He had long hair that went down to the middle of his back. Pein turned red. "Sh-She was just some girl I met, alright?" he said. The one with long hair laughed. "Oi, Dein. Methinks Pein found a girl!" He whispered to the boy with a ponytail. The two laughed. _

"_You all suck!" Pein shouted. "Yeah, yeah." Dein said, tossing him a small suit. "What's this!?" Pein asked. "We're heading for a party. Hurry up and change, we're almost there." Dein told him. _

_Pein hated almost all of his brothers. Dein, for example. He was too cocky. He was popular with the girls of his age, and he was only what, 11? And Kein, who was 12 years old. He was more obsessed with looks than his own mother. Plus, he's flamboyant. Constantly, __**constantly,**__ he'd wave his hair in all their disgusted faces, just to show off how soft his hair was. In fact, he was annoying Dein with it right now. _

"_Dein, your hair is long! You should take better care of it! Here, I'll let you use my special shampoo and conditioner, just for the sake of your poor hair!" Kein shoved bottles of shampoo and conditioner in Dein's arms. He just let them drop to the floor. "I could care less about this stuff." He muttered, staring blankly out the window. Kein gasped dramatically. "I'm insulted!" Dein only nodded._

_Pein had another brother, Gein, who was 13 years old. He could tell why they decided to call him 'Gein.' They said that when he was born, the first thing he did was eat. And his first words were 'Seconds, please'. And when the world chose to introduce cookies to him, he ate them whenever he could. But, he was kind natured, so everyone in his class liked him. _

_Sein, 19 years old, has the most outrageous peircings Pein has ever seen. He was the exact opposite of what his name sounded. Sein was insane. He'd randomly poke people with a fork he keeps in his pocket, he hides his wallet in a wad of cash, heck, he does everything opposite of normal. Why they didn't lock him up yet was beyond all of them. He's nice to Pein, though. He pokes him with the less sharp spoon. But when he's in a bad mood, he pokes Pein with a spork._

_And Zein, 20 years old, is probably the most sensible one out of all of us. He's usually the one who keeps Sein in line. He's the only one Sein doesn't poke. He's the only one Sein listens to. Maybe it's because of the huge age difference between those two from the rest of their brothers? It _was_ a 5 year difference. Well, Zein was a great guy to talk to for advice. _

_Pein sighed. Well, he wasn't that much different from them, was he? He was the trouble child of the family- besides Sein. Often, he'd run out of the castle only to return all bruised and beaten. And when he'd healed up, he'd be out starting fights again. But he liked it that way, and he was sure that the lives his older brothers lived were fine with them as well. No one could change that._

"_Hey, we're here." Dein said, opening the door to the car. Everyone stepped out of the car and started walking towards the castle. _

_Kein snorted. "Shorty." He muttered to Dein. "Shut up, Kein." He growled. _

_Pein also took pride in the fact that he was taller than his older brother, Dein._

"Oi, Pein! Are you listening!?" Someone waved a hand in front of Pein's face. "Huh?" Pein snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the person in front of him. "Dude, what happened? You just zoned out." The person said. "Oh. Xemnas. What're you doing here?" Pein asked, rubbing his eyes.

"There is a _meeting!_ We're late!" Xemnas yelled. "Meeting? What meeting!?" Pein asked, standing up. Xemnas let out an annoyed sigh. "It's the annual secret meeting of Kingdoms today! Your group and I are gonna sneak in and see what's happening around town!" He explained. "Oh. I remember why I ran away now. To go back and wonder what's going on with my family's life." Pein said sarcastically. Xemnas sighed again. "Well, you're the group's leader, so you have to come." He said; and that was that.

--

"It's always so boring here, man! Why do we have to go _every year?_" Hidan groaned. "Xemnas' idea." Pein said. Hidan gave Xemnas a short glare. "It's not like anything changes over the years." He muttered. "The Christmas Ball is something relatively new." Sasori pointed out. "Really now?" Hidan asked, enthusiasm lacking.

Little did the other kings know at the meeting, Pein and Xemnas had a secret room built for their use only. It was actually very annoying to Pein, but he owed Xemnas a favor… and this was it.

No one really listened to anything except for Xemnas. Pein was only half listening. But when he heard an oddly familiar voice, he snapped to attention. "Wait a sec…" he walked up to the watch window and looked towards the podium where a peinfully (XDD) familiar person was speaking.

"I would like the King of this village to know that the Kingdom of the North will be attending the First-annual Christmas Ball." A young man with a long ponytail said into the microphone. Pein squinted to see the person better, and realized that he had peircings across his cheeks and on his jaw line. He growled. "Stupid- Agh, copy-cat!" he muttered to himself. He jumped down to the ground and plopped down on the floor, grumbling to himself.

Xemnas peeked out the window as well. "You know that guy? The short one with peircings?" Pein had an anger mark on his head. "He- and all the people he's sitting with- are my brothers. And they all copied _me_ and got a huge amount of peircings! The bastards!" He said. "Wow. They're all… very different." Xemnas commented. Suddenly, a fork was thrown through the window. "ACK!!"

Pein caught the fork mid-air. "Well, they found us." He said calmly, while the others started panicking. He sighed, throwing the fork back out with equal strength and aim. "Guys," was all Pein had to say to get his friends to calm down. They all stopped to look at him. "Get ready to fight my brothers."

--

Dein stood up in his chair. "Excuse me, head leader, but my brothers and I must leave." He said. "Of course, Dein-sama." The person at the podium bowed, and Dein bowed back. Dein, Kein, Gein, Sein, and Zein exited the council room silently as the meeting of kingdoms continued. "I have something to give our long-lost brother." Dein said.

He led his brothers to a small trap door in the corner of an unused hallway. He kicked it open, and immediately he was met with a wooden sword heading right for him. "Hey, Dein." Pein's attack was blocked by Dein's arm. "What are you doing here, huh?" he smirked. "Heh. I should ask you the same thing." Pein responded, withdrawing his sword. Dein took out a piece of neatly folded paper. "I came to give you something." He said.

-:-

Konan blinked awake. She had been sleeping a lot lately. Maybe walking around the castle would do something.

Putting on a pair of jeans and a loose shirt, Konan walked out of her room and out into the busy halls of the castle – her home. It wasn't long until she saw Neji running around in a brown sack and a horse tail sticking out his butt.

"Konan-sama! Help me, please!!" Neji shouted, hiding behind her. He muttered an apology, but Konan ignored it. "Neji! Where are you!? I need to put on your make up so we can rehearse!!" Little Hanabi came running down the hall, wearing a princess costume. She spotted Konan down the hall and immediately ran to hug her. "Konan-sama! Have you seen Neji?" She asked. Fortunately, she didn't see Neji behind the princess.

Konan pretended to think hard. "Hmm… Ah, no I haven't." Hanabi had a disappointed look on her face. "Hey, why don't you keep looking, and I'll tell you if I see him, alright?" She smiled at Hanabi, who brightened up with a smile herself. "Alright!" She ran down the hall, yelling out Neji's name and her reason for doing so, roars of laughter in her wake.

Neji walked up in front of Konan and bowed. "You've saved my life." He said jokingly. "Anytime, Neji." She watched him humorously as he tried to find another place to hide. Though, when he reached the end of the hall, Hanabi rammed into him and they both were sent crashing to the floor.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!"

Just then, Hinata and Deidara were walking down the hall, holding hands. "Ah! I haven't introduced you to Konan yet, have I?" Hinata asked, pulling his arm towards Konan. "Well, Hi!" Konan smiled. "Yo." Deidara grinned. "Who's he, Hinata?" Konan asked. "This is Deidara-kun, a new person working here at the castle!" Hinata looked very happy. "You two going out?" Konan teased, enjoying the looks on both their faces. They both burst into a stutter of 'no's and 'impossible's and nervous laughter.

Everything was silent for a while. "W-Well, Deidara-kun and I have a job to do after this, so… See ya until then!" Hinata took Deidara's hand and led him to who-knows-where. Konan walked over to where Neji was. "Neji, I'm gonna go to town, alright?" She said. Neji just gave her a lazy nod. "Be… careful… Konan-sama…" he muttered. Konan waved and left the castle.

-:-

Dein was about to hand Pein the folded piece of paper, when suddenly a fork ripped through it. Both of them turned to see Sein throwing forks at random again. "No! Bad Sein!" Zein scolded. "AAAGHH!! Stupid, Stupid, Sein!!" Pein yelled. He knew that the piece of paper was an invitation to the Christmas Ball. An invitation was his ticket into the whole thing!

Xemnas came and patted Pein on the shoulder. Dein shrugged haughtily. "Oh, well that's just too bad. Guess you're never going to that party." He said, snapping his fingers. On cue, all Pein's brothers left the room, leaving the shredded invitation on the ground. There was a moment of silence, then a loud scream of anger.

"DDDDDDDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!"

Suddenly, alarms sounded, and all the windows and exits were going to be sealed. "Oh, shit! Pein, we gotta get outta here!" Xemnas and the others ran for the door, but Pein stayed behind. He stared at the torn up invitation. "Maybe we could tape it up?" But before he could even pick it up, Xemnas grabbed him by the collar and pulled him out the door. "Run!"

The guards were chasing them like there was no tomorrow. "Let none of them escape!" The head guard ordered. Xemnas glanced at Pein. "Division A or B?" he asked. "A." Pein muttered, yelling it over the footsteps. Immediately, everyone separated and disappeared in the halls.

"Hey! Where'd they go?" One of the officers asked. "Crap! I told you not to let them escape! Now look!" The head chief started scolding his team while Pein and the others made it out. Tobi slipped and fell, ruining the whole 'stealthy escape' plan.

"Tobi! You idiot!" Pein cursed under his breath. The cops in the building started chasing them out. They all managed to take the whole chase down the streets. "TOBI!! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!" Pein shouted. "I'm sorry!" Tobi shouted back.

--

Konan whistled a happy tune as she walked down the street. She heard a commotion down the lane, but passed it off as a simple robbery or something. It wasn't until someone crashed into her and knocked her down to the ground that she realized that it wasn't.

"Outta the way!!" A familiar voice yelled. "_You_ watch it!" Konan retorted.

--

Pein looked down at the person he crashed into. "Konan!" he shouted. "Uh… you!" Konan said. She never really caught his name. "Agh…" Pein was thinking about what to do. If he left her here, the police would accidentally trample her. If he took her with him… they'd have his head for kidnapping.

"Pein! Just take her with us! Hurry up, they're coming!" Xemnas shouted at the two. "What!?" Konan yelled in protest. "They're too far. We'll have to… alright." Pein quickly got up, taking Konan's arm and pulling her up. If the cops were running straight this way, they wouldn't notice little things on the side. Aw, but they'd totally notice his bright auburn hair! Crap!

Ignoring Konan's constant protests, Pein slammed her against the wall and held his face right in front of hers, making it look like they were making out. The cops stopped at first glance of his auburn hair, but when they saw the girl with him, they passed it off as young love. Just as Pein had planned. He waited until all the cops were gone then got off of Konan.

Konan punched him in the stomach. "What the hell was that!?" She asked angrily. She aimed more punches at him, but Pein just kept dodging them. "Hey, what else was I supposed to do?" Pein grabbed both of her wrists. "You have some real guts to start putting the moves on me when we just met for the SECOND TIME!" she shook off his grip on her wrists. _Is she even listening to me?_ "SECOND TIME!? We knew each other _looooong_ before that!" Pein yelled at her.

Konan stared at him; well, more like glared, same outcome. "What are you talking about?" she asked, giving him strange looks. "What's your name?" she added.

But the police found them again. "Hey! There they are!" one of them yelled. "Oh crap. We gotta go." Pein grabbed her arm and started running. "'We'!?" Konan said, running away with him anyway. "God, you're so slow!" Pein picked her up and carried her bridal style while still running. "HEY!! PUT ME DOWN!!" she shrieked.

Pein could almost _hear_ the reports of a kidnapping.

-:-

When they all arrived home, Pein threw Konan on the couch. "You're heavy!" he yelled. "It's your fault you carried me!" Konan yelled back. "It's your fault for being in the way!" Pein argued. "It's your fault for causing trouble at that meeting!" And it went on like that until Itachi told them both to stop.

"Blaming each other won't get the princess home, nor will it get the police off our ass." Itachi said. Pein and Konan glared at each other. "I can't believe I _liked_ you as a kid!" he blurted out, almost turning red with anger. "What are you _talking_ about! I never knew you before!" Konan shrieked. "Are girls always this bitchy!?" Pein asked. "Agh!! Just take me home!!" The two huffed and faced away from each other.

"P-Princess… san… There's a huge risk that the police are outside still looking for us. We can't get you home until at least tomorrow." Sasori said, trying to ease the tension in the room. Why the HELL did he think that would help? "MORNING!? I can't stay in the same house as HIM until morning!" Konan yelled, pointing a finger at Pein. "Well neither can I!" he yelled.

Xemnas sighed. It was so noisy, so late at night. _Something_ had to be done about this. "Alright, as punishment for giving me a headache, both of you will sleep in the same room until you kiss and make up. Hidan, make sure they do so, I'm going to bed. Good night." Xemnas yelled over Pein and Konan's voices.

"…WHAT!?"

-:-

Neji ran down the hall looking for Hinata. When he saw her, he grabbed her shoulders. "Have you seen Konan-sama!?" he asked. "No, why? What's wrong?" Hinata asked. "She's not home yet! She left the castle a few hours ago, but it's getting dark!" Neji said, close to panicking. "Hey, isn't it the dad's job to worry about Konan?" Deidara asked. Neji glared at him. "…sama?"

Neji sighed, letting go of Hinata. "Have you told him about the relationship between the King and Konan-sama?" he asked. "Why? What's up between them?" Deidara asked. "Well, they almost hate each other. Now that she's almost of marrying age, it's becoming harder because the King wants her to get married to a prince." Deidara listened carefully. "And?"

"Well, Konan doesn't want to get married, and she wants to fall in love for real, or so she told me." Neji said. Deidara nodded. "Alright. Well, I hope she does come home soon. Me and Hinata have lots of work to do, so… see ya." He took Hinata's hand and led her away to the art room. Hinata waved back to Neji, who just ran down the hall and down the stairs. Then he tripped and fell.

_I wonder where Konan is…_ Hinata thought. She absent mindedly followed Deidara to the art room, his warm hand the only thing guiding her. It wasn't until the warmth in her hand was gone that she noticed they were in the art room already. "You alright?" she heard Deidara ask. But she couldn't really talk. Perhaps she lost her words to her thoughts, and now she couldn't speak. Or maybe it was because Deidara's face was so close to hers it should be counted as making out.

Deidara leaned his forehead against hers. "You don't have a fever…" No wait, it was the fact that Deidara was too close for comfort. "Eep…" Hinata squeaked, feeling faint. Everything was turning dark for her, seeing only Deidara's surprised and worried look.

--

When Hinata came to, she noticed that it smelled like paint. "Deidara…kun?" she got into sitting position and looked for Deidara in the room. He was on the ground, painting a banner that read 'Welcome To The Christmas Ball'. He looked over to her and smiled. "Good morning!" he said, getting back to his painting.

Hinata crawled over tot him, looking over the banner. "That's great… I wish I could've helped." She said apologetically. "S'alright. I've gotten a lot done while you were asleep. Though there were a few things I wanted work on with you, so I saved those for later. I hope that's alright." Hinata blushed. "I-It's fine…" She took the list and read over it. A bunch of it was crossed out; probably the ones Deidara already completed.

"W-was I asleep that long?" she asked. "Yes. I thought you were dead!" Deidara said jokingly. But Hinata didn't get it. "R-Really!? I'm sorry! I won't faint again! I-I-I promi-" Deidara placed a finger on her lips. "I was joking." He laughed. Hinata sighed in relief.

"Well, it's getting kinda late. Why don't we call it a day, hm?" Deidara placed the paintbrush oh the floor. "I think I'll start working on one of the things on the list." Hinata said. "Huh?" Deidara looked at her. "I…I feel like I haven't done my share of the work. So… if it's alright…" She saw Deidara shake his head. "Hinata, I wanted to work on those with you. And, obviously you fainted because you were sick. You should get some rest, okay?" he said. "B-But…" Hinata started feeling faint again.

Deidara yawned. "I can carry you to your room, if you're still tired." He said, taking his vest from the floor. "I'm a little sleepy myself."

"N-No… I can't possibly… do… that…" Before she slipped into unconsciousness, she was picked up bridal style. "Ah! D-Deidara-kun! P-Please put me down!" But he didn't. "Hey, Hinata?" he said. "Huh?" Hinata stopped to listen. "I know I only met you a few hours ago, but… I can already tell that we're going to be best friends. Do you feel the same?" he asked, walking down the halls to Hinata's room.

This time, Hinata felt that she was going to faint from his natural charm. So she just rested her head on his chest, making him blush. "I feel that already." She whispered, falling asleep. He smiled. _She's cute even when she sleeps._

-:-

Okay, Pein Dein Kein Gein Sein and Zein. That's all their names. They were taken off masamunerevolution's profile on deviantART. …yeah. And I'm afraid I'm having quite a problem writing for Childhood Memories 2. Anyone care to help? Thanks, much appreciated.

And I've come to realize that the ending for this story has become so clear, the beginning's a little off. And the middle shall be worse. Oh well, try to understand it all as we go along.


	3. Chapter 3

**Fairy Tale**

Ah. I forgot to mention something. All the other Naruto characters are butlers/maids but not Hyugas because… well, this story is basically throw up from my mind. I'm just clearing out my bowels for fresh ideas for Childhood Memories 2.

Phew, now that makes life a lot easier.

Chapter 3

Late at night, in Pein's bedroom…

Pein and Konan stood on opposite sides of the bedroom, the bed in between. "I'm not sleeping in the same bed as you." They both said at the same time. Right now, they absolutely hated each other.

Xemnas appeared at the door. "You guys still awake? Come on! It's already midnight. If you want any energy in the morning to go home, you'll have to sleep, Princess." He said. "There's no blanket." Pein growled. He knew what they were trying to do. Keep warm by _body heat_. Xemnas grinned. "I cannot do anything about that." He said, walking to his room.

Soon, Pein got tired and crawled onto the bed. "If _you_ aren't tired yet, Konan, I'd really like it if you didn't stare at me the whole night." He said to Konan. She just huffed. "I don't give a shit for what you like." She spat. "Ooh, language, young lady." Pein said sarcastically. She didn't say anything after that. And about an hour later, after Pein had gotten a little bit of sleep, he started hearing quiet sobs.

"Konan?" Pein called softly. He heard a few sniffles and then a very harsh "What?" He turned around and saw her sitting by the bed, her head resting on its edge. "You been awake all this time?" he asked, turning to face her on the bed. "It's only been an hour, stupid." By now the small sobs were something of the imagination. "Well… I can't just leave you there."

There was a moment of silence, then Pein spoke up. "Well, I _can_… but I won't." Konan heard rustling, then footsteps. Then, she was picked up and thrown on the bed. "Hey!" she said, but Pein clamped a hand over her mouth. "You're gonna really gonna hate me for this, but I know we're both cold." With that, he wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close. He let out a sigh of content. "You're really warm." He said.

Konan turned red. He started absently stroking her hair. "S… stop that…" she said, slowly drifting off to sleep. "Hm?" Pein looked down at her only to find that she finally fell asleep. Pretty soon he too fell asleep.

Xemnas walked in and took a picture, then left without a sound.

-:-

Hinata woke up, buy didn't open her eyes. She felt warm, but there was no blanket. Well, the blanket was scrunched up at the foot of the bed. Not knowing where this unknown source of warmth was coming from, she turned around and found a sleeping Deidara. "D-D-Deidara-kun!?" She inched away from him on the bed, her back against the wall.

Deidara rolled over so that he was facing her. He opened his eyes and smiled at her. "Morning, Hina-chan…" He rolled on his back and stretched. He noticed that Hinata was frozen in place by the wall. "Hina-chan?" Deidara looked at her. She was beet red.

"D-D-D-D-D-D-Deidara-kun… in the same bed… sleeping… with me…" Hinata fell sideways on the bed, her cheeks so red steam was coming out of her ears. "Hinata?" Deidara started trying to get her awake.

When Hinata woke up, Deidara was on top of her. She was about to faint again, when Deidara gently patted her face. "Before you faint again, I wanna tell you what happened." He said. "Go… go ahead…" Hinata sighed.

"Alright. Last night, when you told me the best thing I could ever hear from a friend, I took you to your room." Deidara explained. Hinata nodded. "I couldn't really change you out of your clothes, so I just took off the apron. But then, I realized that my room was all the way on the other side of the castle. I was sooo tired, I just decided to sleep here with you." He saw Hinata swoon. "Ah, ah, I'm not done yet." He held her head in place.

"So, nothing really happened, and nothing really was going to happen, so I thought it would be okay. And I really hope it is!" Deidara let his hands rest briefly on her shoulders before letting them rest on the bed. Hinata was still red. "And, you can faint now." He heard Hinata sigh and fall down on the bed.

Deidara sat there for a moment. "I guess I'll go get us breakfast." He walked out of the room and towards the kitchen. He left Hinata a note saying to meet him in the art room when she's ready.

-:-

_Something's squishing me…_ Konan thought, trying to move but couldn't. She tried to turn her head so she could see what was squishing her, but all she could see was auburn hair. _Auburn hair… auburn hair… AUBURN HAIR!?_ Oh, she found out that it was Pein who was on top of her. Luckily, he started to wake up.

"Mmm… Morning…" He muttered, tightening his 'hug'. Konan turned red. She shoved him off of her. "Get off." She said. Pein suddenly jumped on top of her at the sudden coldness. "It's cold." He said. "I don't care! Get off!" Konan tried to pry his arms from her waist, but they wouldn't budge.

Then, Xemnas came and walked in. "how's the lovely couple doing, hm?" he asked. "Terrible." "Cold." Konan and Pein said. "Hm. Well, I found the blankets, if any of you wants it." Surprisingly, neither of them accepted the offer. So instead, Xemnas threw the blanket on top of the two, took a quick picture, and left.

Great. Now they were hugging, in bed, _and_ under a blanket. As if things could get any worse for Konan now.

Just then, all of a sudden, Pein fell asleep again. "Ugh…" Konan managed to wriggle out of his grasp, avoiding his flailing arms. "Wake up and take me the hell home!" She yelled. "But you're a great pillow…" Pein was looking at her from the bed. His face was buried in the pillow, but one of his eyes was showing.

Konan sighed and placed her hands on her hips. "Can I _please_ go home now? I'm surprised I haven't run away yet." Pein rolled around on the bed. "Alright, I'll take you. Just lemme wake up first…" Konan threw a pillow at his face. "You're awake. Take me home." Pein moved the pillow aside and sat on the bed. "Whiny bitch…"

This time, instead of a pillow, a fist met with his face and slammed him against the wall. "It wouldn't be wise to talk to me from this moment on." Konan said, stomping out of the room.

As if Xemnas were stalking them, he walked in. "Lovers quarrel?" he asked. "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!! SHE MAKES ME GO CRAZY!!! DAMMIT!!!" Pein yelled out of the blue. He pulled at his hair in anger. He stopped when he heard Xemnas laugh. "Well, aren't you loud?" he chuckled, leaving Pein to drown in his own anger.

When Pein decided to come out of his room (fully dressed and everything), seeing Konan for no reason at all made him turn red at the cheeks. She noticed him staring at her. "Well? Are you just gonna stand there and stare or have me make your life a living hell by staying here?" The red on Pein's face disappeared. "You know, I actually thought you were pretty before you opened your BIG MOUTH!!" he yelled. "BIG MOUTH!? You're one to talk! Hell, your mouth is bigger than mine!" Konan yelled back.

"PEIN!! TAKE HER HOME NOW OR I'LL FORCE YOU TO SLEEP TOGETHER AGAIN!! AND THIS TIME, THERE'LL BE NO BED TO SLEEP ON!!" Xemnas hollered from the hallway. Pein immediately pushed both of them out the door.

Konan stopped when she saw Pein looking around. "What now?" she asked, crossing her arms around her chest. He was silent for a while. Then he said, "Do you know where we are?" Konan let out an aggravated sigh.

"Great. We're lost."

-:-

Hinata had finally woken up and made her way to the art room, where Deidara was waiting. She opened the door and gasped at what she saw.

"Oh, Hinata! You're finally awake, huh?" Deidara wiped off some sweat on his forehead, leaving a smear of clay on it instead. "D-Deidara-kun… what is that?" Hinata pointed to the clay bird in front of her. "Well, You were asleep for a long time, so I just thought I'd pass the time. And this came out in the end." He glanced over at her; she was looking in total awe. "I-It's… amazing." She said. He just stayed silent.

Deidara moved a box from the corner of the room in front of him. "These are all the decorations we have (permission to) put up. Hiashi-san says that they have to go up today." He said, taking out a few decorations for the art room that he'd put up. "Go all around the castle and hang these up wherever you want, just not in the bathrooms… or his office." Deidara said, pushing the box towards Hinata. She stood up, ready to get to work. "I'll do my best!" She said, taking the heavy box and quickly running out the door.

"Don't trip-!" Deidara winced when he heard a crashing noise. He heard a bunch of footsteps and Hiashi yelling.

"I-I'm sorry!"

"You're such a klutz!!"

"Are you alright, Hinata?"

"Oh no! A cut!"

"What!?"

"Blood!"

_She'll be fine… right?_ Deidara thought hopefully. A few minutes later, Hinata slowly opened the door to the art room and slipped inside. She had her arm and hand wrapped up in bandages, and she had a small band aid on her right cheek. "…Maybe _I_ should do the decorations around the castle." Deidara said. Hinata only nodded.

--

Hinata had successfully decorated the Art room. She didn't have enough decorations; Deidara took most of them with him. So, she had to hand-draw most of them. She felt a bit awkward with the mistletoe in the middle of the room. Maybe she'd avoid that spot as much as possible.

Just then, Deidara opened the door, glitter scattered over his uniform and his hair. Hinata squeaked, turned red, and almost tripped over a paint can, but quickly regained her balance. "Sorry to scare you." Deidara chuckled. "Hahaha…" Hinata inched towards him, causing him to worry slightly. "Something wrong?" he asked. "No! N-No, nothing to w-worry about!" Hinata assured, unintentionally making it obvious that she was avoiding something.

Deidara looked up and saw a mistletoe over the spot Hinata was avoiding. He laughed. "Hinata, I won't kiss you if you don't want me to." He said, seeing Hinata calm down a bit. "What? You don't think I'm a good kisser or something?" Deidara put down the box of extra decorations. For some reason, it was entertaining seeing Hinata blush and freak out.

"N-No! I think you're a great kisser!" She blurted out. Immediately she clasped a hand over her mouth. "_Really_ now?" Deidara smirked. "I…I-I mean…" she crouched down and covered her face. After a few seconds she stood up again, confidence suddenly brimming in her eyes. "Sure, why not? You could be a _great_ kisser!" she said firmly.

It took all Deidara had to stop from laughing. Never had he ever seen the term 'great kisser' in such a serious tone.

Seeing the hint of laughter, Hinata almost glared at him. "What?" She asked. Then, Deidara burst out laughing. All confidence in Hinata had been replaced with embarrassment. "Whaaaat?" she said in a whiny voice. Without warning, Deidara pulled her under the mistletoe and kissed her. But it wasn't on the lips exactly, but not on the cheek either. Somewhere in between.

Hinata turned red when Deidara pulled away. "Just so you know, people tell me I'm a good kisser. Maybe you'll experience that part of me later." He winked at her. "Ah… um… uh…"

Suddenly, another maid with pink hair opened the door. "Hinata-chan, Neji's panicking about Konan-sama!" she said. Either she didn't notice Deidara being so close to Hinata or she just ignored it. The maid took Hinata's arm and led her to where Neji was. Deidara followed her.

"Sa-Sakura-san, where is Neji-nii-san?" Hinata asked. "He's in the dining room. Everyone's going crazy just to get him to calm down." Sakura said.

"But, on another note, who's the hottie?" Sakura whispered to Hinata. "Who?" Hinata repeated. "The blonde. With the ponytail." Sakura nodded to Deidara behind them. "Him? H-He's… new here. His name is Deidara-kun." Hinata explained. "He's hot. You two going out?" Sakura asked. Hinata didn't say anything, but turned red. "I-I-I d-don't think so…" she whispered. "Alright then, just in case, I'll lay off." Sakura smiled. "O-O-Okay…"

-:-

A few hours had passed since Konan and Pein got lost. It was cold, damp, and a light layer of slippery snow on the ground was making it hard to walk.

But Konan found something familiar about the woods they were in. The first thing she found was the carving of her name and Pein's in a tree. She didn't show him, of course, it was embarrassing! So all she mentioned was that the place looked familiar and that she could find her way home. He insisted on coming anyway, just to see what the castle looked like again.

_No, he'd never notice his name carved into a tree. It was when I was little anyway, so what would it matter now?_ Konan told herself. Thinking about how much she liked him as a kid, she tried comparing to what she liked about him to now. Her eyes slowly traveled to his face. He's changed a lot. A _lot_.

On one note, she used to think that he was handsome, good looking, all that stuff we thought as kids. Looking at him now… he was hot. Sexy. Why didn't she see that when she was blinded by anger from his insults? (Well, duh. _Blinded by anger_) That fact colored her cheeks a light shade of pink.

When they were kids, Konan found him to be rebellious, wild, outgoing, and… a jerk. Now, she thought him to be… the same. Except the word 'jerk' should be replaced with the word 'asshole.' But a sense of responsibility and respect somehow radiated through all that crap. And he was an admirable fighter. The pink shade on her cheeks turned darker.

As a kid, Konan thought Pein to be strange. Now, he was just odd. He made a lot more sense than he did when they were kids. But he was still hot, sexy, wild, and an ass. Hoxyildass.

Pein glanced at her and noticed that she was red at the cheeks. "What?" he asked, causing her to jump slightly. "What, what?" she said. "What, what, what? You're cheeks are red." Pein poked her cheek. "No they're not!" Konan turned away. _Dammit. Stupid thinking… _she cursed.

Pein decided to just forget about it. It would be annoying if he argued with her again. "Hey. We're here." He said. Konan looked up and saw the tall gates of the castle. "That's great!" she said happily.

Walking up to the gates, she gave it a gentle push, finding it strange that it wasn't locked. "Well, see ya around, I guess." Pein waved and started walking away. "Y… Yeah." Konan didn't wave back or acknowledge his leaving at all. She just watched him walk away.

Konan calmly walked down the walkway to the front door. She took a moment to wonder what her father might say or do when she went in. Slowly opening the door, she muttered an 'I'm home' and closed the door behind her. Nothing big happened yet, so she decided to walk down the halls. No one was in the hall.

_Maybe I've been forgotten?_ She thought blankly, absently walking towards her room. Right when that thought crossed her mind, she heard a lot of screaming and running coming from the other side of the hallway. Leading the group of noises was Neji.

"KONAN-SAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!" he screamed. Though she was there, he didn't know that. He just migrated from the dining room to the hallways.

"N-Neji-san! Come back!! Calm down!!"

"Nii-san! W-wait a second!"

"Hey, look! There's the princess."

Konan took a step back and braced herself for impact. Neji eventually crashed into her, sending both of them to the ground… and becoming the speed bump of the many maids and butlers that got involved. Pretty soon, everyone was on the floor, groaning in pain.

"Konan-sama?" Neji looked at her. Then he started crying. "Konan-sama!! Thank god you're safe!!" He gave her such a tight hug that he couldn't bring himself to let go. "Great to see you too…?" Konan choked out. "I was worried to DEATH about you!!! Where in God's green earth have you been!?!?" Neji started rolling around on the ground.

Hinata got up and stopped him. She pried his arms open and got Konan out of his grasp long enough to give her a hug herself. "I'm so glad you're okay." She said, letting go. Pretty soon Neji started hugging her violently again. When he finally calmed down, he started speaking clearly and asked a lot of questions.

"Where were you? Was someone with you? Raped? Molested? Shot at? Kidnapped? Where did you sleep? How far away were you? What the hell happened!?" Neji said all those questions so quickly, it was amazing that Konan actually understood and answered them all.

"I was in town. A friend that I knew from when I was a kid. No. No. No. Somewhat. In a bed. I don't know. I'll tell you later when I get some sleep." She said, equally as quick as Neji did. He nodded. "Hinata, take Konan-sama to her room please." He said. "Alright, Neji-nii-san." Hinata took Konan's hand and the two of them walked to her room.

When they got there, Konan plopped on the bed and sighed loudly. "Ugh. I _hate_ that guy!!" she said. "Who, Neji-nii-san?" Hinata asked, partly surprised about that. "No, the guy I said… what was it? That guy from when we were kids." Konan absently waved her hand in the air, almost as if she were trying to grab the memory. "Oh. What was his name?" Hinata asked.

"Pein in the ass." Konan muttered, inwardly laughing at her joke. "Pein? Or Ass?" Hinata asked innocently. "Might as well be both." Konan said, making them both laugh. "But damn, he's turned into a total hottie…" Konan growled, hugging a pillow. "What a sudden change in opinion, Konan." Hinata commented.

They both stayed silent until Deidara knocked twice on the door and let himself in. "Yo." He grinned. "H-Hello, Deidara-kun…" Hinata whispered shyly, a blush forming on her cheeks. He didn't notice the shyness in her voice and said hello back. "How's the princess feeling, eh?" he asked.

"Confused. Tired. Terrible. Odd." Konan said, her face in her pillow. She didn't mind his forwardness, but it could get annoying depending on what mood she was in. "Aw, why?" Deidara asked. "Pein-is." She heard Deidara laugh at that. "Who's that?" he asked inbetween giggles. "His real name is Pein. He's a pein-is because he's a Pein in the ass… and he's suddenly extremely good looking… and we were friends in the past… and blah, blah, blah." Konan said.

Deidara's laughing faded to a huge grin. "Well, some of those reasons don't even make sense. But I suppose I can't do any better. Hope ya feel better!" he said. "Hm."

There was another long silence. "U-um… K-Konan, if you don't mind, D-Deidara-kun and I have to work on the decorations for the Christmas Ball, so… I-If you'll excuse us…" Hinata said. Konan lifted her head from the pillow. "Alright, close the door behind you. And tell Neji not to come in, I'm resting." She said. She smiled and waved as Hinata and Deidara left.

-:-

"Hey, Pein! How'd it go?" Hidan asked. "Next time you mention that woman and me, I'll kill you." Pein said, going straight to his room and slamming the door.

Everything was silent again. "Who shoved his wooden sword up his ass?" Hidan asked. Everyone laughed at that.

Pein, however, found it irritating that he couldn't think of any other thing except for Konan. Not only was it unusual, it was everything but comfortable. Her smile, her laugh, hell, even the flower in her hair. He didn't see much of the smiling, or hear much laughter, but he'd heard it before.

Sighing, Pein laid down on his bed and rolled to his side. Then, he realized that Konan had been in the same bed with him the night before. Growling, he turned to his other side. But wait, Konan was glaring at him from that side of the room the night before. "Damn, she comes into my room _once_ and she's already left traces of herself in my mind." He cursed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Fairy Tale**

… Merry Christmas, readers, non-readers, reviewers, non-reviewers, nice people, un-nice people, and hobos.

Chapter 4

The Eve of Christmas Eve. December 23rd. Everyone in the castle was busy finishing up all the things they were working on. Luckily, Deidara and Hinata were confident that all the decorating was finished, and there was no need to double check. So now they were stuck in the lounge with nothing to do. As a result, strange and random questions were brought up. Such as…

"So, Hina-chan. You have anyone you like?" Deidara asked. Hinata turned red. "H-Huh?" she said. "Do you have a crush on anyone?" Deidara repeated, leaning back on the couch. If anything, Hinata turned a darker shade of red, which meant she did have one. "W-Well… I-I… I don't r-really know… yet." She stuttered, looking down at the floor in embarrassment.

A few minutes later, Hinata asked him the same thing. "Me? You can say that." Deidara replied, sitting up. "The girl's _very_ cute. She's kind, generous, giving, and she's very shy." He said. _That could count for every maid in the whole castle except for Sakura…_ Hinata thought to herself.

"Oh, and you know her very well." Deidara added. "Really? Who?" Hinata asked curiously. "You'll find out at the party, when I confess to her." He answered. _I'm so happy that he found someone… _"Alright… well, good luck with that!" Hinata got up and walked out of the room. Part of her skirt got caught in the door, so she had to open the door again to get it out. "Haha… bye." She waved.

"Ah, I forgot. The girl I like is clumsy too."

-:-

"Jingle Bells, Xemnas smells, Pein, you laid an egg…" Hidan sang, hanging up random Christmas decorations around the house. "Kakuzu paid the bill, and Tobi… laid an egg too. I guess." He finished. Pein clapped. "Hooray, Hidan! To whom do I owe the pleasure of that wonderfully horrible song?" he asked sarcastically. "… Merry Christmas to you too, asshole." Hidan retorted, grumbling to himself as he hung up tinsel and garland along the halls.

"On the bright side, the Christmas Ball is in two says." Itachi said. That did anything but cheer up Pein. Because of his _stupid brother_ Sein, he didn't have an invitation. "Ugh, don't remind me…" Pein said, standing up to go to his room. "Oh, I forgot to tell you, Pein," Xemnas said. "We all have invites except for you!" everyone in the room held up their invitations just in spite of him.

Sighing angrily, Pein walked to his room. _I hate this place sooo much right now…_ he grumbled to himself. He sat on the bed, his face in his hands. So tired, so stressed, and thinking about a certain princess wasn't helping. "Why does she haunt me like this!?" He asked.

Lying down on the bed, he stared at the ceiling. "Konan. Konan, Konan, Konan, Konan, Konan." He repeated her name over and over. "Konan, get the hell outta my head!!" he yelled. Not that it worked, but it was good to dream.

"Fine, if you won't leave my head, tell me why I can't stop thinking about you!!" Pein rolled over and buried his face in his pillow. _Tell me why you keep popping up in my head like you live there! _

_Tell me… if I still like you or not._

-:-

Dein, Kein, Gein, Sein, and Zein (lol) were sitting around in the living room.

"I can't wait to show off my beauty to the other kingdoms!" Kein sang, twirling around, his hair flowing in the wind that wasn't supposed to be there. "I can't wait to show off my 'beat up my older brother Kein' skills to the other kingdoms." Dein growled. Kein stopped twirling around to give him a scared and horrified look. "Kyaah! I'm scared!! Dein is being scary!!" he shrieked.

"I wonder what kind of food they serve in that village…" Gein wondered aloud, eating a bag of chips.

"How sharp are the forks there? How about the spoons!? The knives sound sharp!" Sein said to himself, practicing his 'poking skills'.

"I wonder how our dear little brother Pein is doing." Zein said. Everyone in the room fell silent. "'Dear little Pein' is rotting away in a jail cell. The police finally caught him and Pein got what he (probably -.-) deserved." Dein said.

Just then, a police officer came in, a troubled look on his face. "D-Dein-sama… Uh… w-we failed in capturing p-prince P-Pein…" he stuttered. Dein stared at the officer with a mix of anger and surprise. "WHAT!? YOU'RE THE HEAD OFFICER!! CAN'T YOU CATCH ONE LITTLE STREET RAT!?!? (Disney relation is non-existent)!" The police officer hung his head in shame. "HE'S ONLY WHAT, 16!? WHAT THE HELL'S WRONG WITH YOU!?"

Dein was interrupted by a deep voice saying **"Stop it, Dein."** The voice was followed by footsteps walking towards them. "Alright…" Dein said. The man walked out of the shadows (of the brightly lit hallway) to reveal a man of no relation to Dein and his brothers. But they were still to call him by the term of:

"…'_Dad'_…"

-:-

"Konan! I need help!" Hinata cried, barging into Konan's room. "Is Neji still in a bad mood?" Konan asked. She was currently reading a magazine. "N-No, even more serious!" Hinata gasped. Konan closed the magazine and looked at Hinata. "That serious, huh? What is it?" she asked.

Hinata sat down on the bed, her face beet red. "I-It's about… D-Deidara-kun…" she said. "What about him?" Konan asked. By this time, Hinata had calmed down a little. "Um… have you ever… l-liked someone before?" she asked. "I like you, does that count?" Konan asked. Hinata shook her head. "N-No, not like friends. Something… just a _little_ more than that…" she said, turning a darker shade of red.

It took Konan a minute to register what she said. "SERIOUSLY!?" She asked, surprised. Hinata nodded her head. "I'm so happy for you! I wish you both the best of luck!" Konan patted Hinata's back. "W-W-Wait a minute!" Hinata said. "W-W-We're… not like that… yet. I-I-I never told him…" she said. Konan gripped Hinata's shoulders. "You need to tell him then!!" she ordered.

"B-But… Deidara-kun already said that… he already had someone he liked…" For a moment, Hinata looked very sad. But a few seconds later, she masked that feeling with a smile, making Konan worry a bit.

"So, Konan, do you have anyone you like?" she asked. Konan turned red. "Feh. You can't really call it 'like'…" she said. "So you _do_ have someone…?" Hinata asked. "Sure. You can say that. I have someone I like, yet hate with the hot intensity of a thousand suns." Konan said vaguely.

Just then, someone knocked on the door. "Konan-sama, your father sent me to help you pick out a dress for the Christmas Ball." It was Neji. "Alright. Come in." Konan said. Neji opened the door. It wasn't that surprising to find Hinata there, but it was surprising when you knew she was faking a smile. "Hinata, are you alright?" he asked.

There was an awkward silence. "ALRIGHTY THEN!! Let's take a look at my closet of wonders, shall we?" Konan yelled, standing up. She pulled Hinata up as well. "Let's go!" When Konan opened the closet, Neji stared in annoyance.

Neji's eye twitched. In the closet, there was nothing but pair upon pair of pants. And the shoes were all tennis shoes and sneakers, the jewelry was actually a familiar term called 'bling', and all the hats were baseball caps and Disneyland play hats.

"Konan-sama."

"Yup?"

"Tell me what kind of life you live behind the scenes. Please."

Hinata quietly backed away from the closet. "Hinata, where're you going?" Konan asked. "Oh, j-just the bathroom… Don't expect me to come back though, I have to… uh… talk with Sakura-chan about something." Hinata said, opening the door. "Okay… go ahead. See ya." Konan said.

"Yeah…"

-:-

After a while of thinking, Deidara finally listened to his grumbling stomach and went to the dining hall. It was almost completely empty. _I guess everyone's working on something for the Christmas Ball…_ Deidara figured. He took a tray, slapped on whatever he liked in the food stands, took a seat and started eating.

He heard the door open and footsteps walking in. "Ah… is someone here?" A familiar voice asked. "Hinata?" Deidara leaned over to see her. "D-Deidara-kun!" Hinata shrunk back behind the door, her face suddenly dark red. "Wanna eat?" Deidara asked. "N-No thanks…" Hinata squeaked.

Deidara walked over to where she was. "Are you okay?" he asked, holding her hand. "Uh… I-I-I'm alright, really!" Deidara laughed. "Well, are you sure you don't wanna eat? I can't possibly eat all this by myself." He said, gently pulling her to the table. "Uh… No, I-I'm full…" Just then, Hinata's stomach started to gurgle. She turned a darker shade of red. _Oh yeah… I slept through breakfast and had to skip…_

She heard Deidara laugh again. "You skip breakfast too?" he asked, having her sit down across from him. "Y-Yes…" Was she arousing suspicion? Did she look uncomfortable? She noticed Deidara giving her a worried look. "Um… Is there something on my face?" she asked. "It's nothing. Deidara smiled.

"So, have you figured out if you actually liked the guy you liked?" He asked, taking a bite out of the chocolate cake he got. "Yes, actually." Hinata said, eating a little bit of the food Deidara had lain out. "Really? Can you tell me?" He asked curiously. Hinata turned red again and looked downward.

"I-I'll try…" She glanced up at him, seeing that he was listening with a huge grin on his face. "H-He's… very good looking. He…um…"she paused for a moment. "You can tell me." Deidara said. "He's a very happy person. He's always cheering me up when I'm down. This person… I've brown so close to him, that whenever I see him, my heart skips a beat… I love that person from the bottom of my heart…" Hinata had closed her eyes for a moment.

It took all Deidara had to not confess to her right then. But he knew he couldn't just say 'I Love You' when she obviously likes someone else.

Suddenly, Hiashi's voice spoke over the intercom. _"Will all the people who worked on something for the Christmas Ball please see me in the meeting room. Thank you."_ There was a clicking sound. "I guess we have to go." Deidara said. "Y-Yeah…" The two cleaned up and headed for the meeting room.

--

"The Christmas Ball is tomorrow night. I need stat reports by NOW." Hiashi said. "You! How are the food plans going!?" He pointed to a random person. Amazingly he got the right job with the right person. "U-Uh, Great, sir! I have everything planned out!" The person saluted. "You! The tableware! Is it fancy enough!?" Hiashi pointed to another person, and again got the right job and person. "I-I-It's fancy, sir!!" maybe Hiashi was getting more fun out of scaring the wits out of his employees rather than getting the full progress report.

_He's scaring everyone… _Deidara and Hinata thought.

"Hinata! Are all the decorations put up!?" Hiashi asked. "Yes, father." Hinata said calmly. Hiashi looked at her a little bit longer before going on to ask the others about their progress. When he turned away, Hinata let out a long sigh of relief. "Great job, Hina-chan! He's scary!" Deidara held up a thumb of approval. "Heh… thanks…" Hinata said.

By the time the meeting was over, it was already night time. Since almost half of the people in the staff didn't fully finish their tasks, Hiashi gave them the lecture of a lifetime, and everyone had to stay and listen so he wouldn't have to repeat himself. But everyone knew that he'd repeat himself sooner or later.

So, Deidara decided to walk Hinata to her room. "Hinata." He said. "Hm?" Hinata looked back at him. "Uh… g-good luck with… that guy you like…" Deidara blushed at looked away. Hinata stopped to look at him, then smiled. "Thanks!" She said, opening the door to her room. "Good luck with the girl you like, Deidara-kun!" she said good night to him and closed the door behind her. "Yeah…"

-:-

"**You all are attending the Christmas Ball tomorrow night?"** 'Dad' said. "Yes." Dein answered. He was the only one who had the (balls) to answer their make-believe father. **"That's good. I hope you all have fun there; I myself will not be attending." **'Dad' said. With that, he left the room.

There were a few minutes of silence, then Kein spoke up. "That was so brave, Dein-chan! I'm so proud of you!" He said, patting Dein on the back. "Hm. We'd better start picking out what we want to wear at the Christmas Party…" Dein grumbled.

-:-

Needed to post this chapter up quick. Merry Christmas, next chapter up definatly by then.


	5. Chapter 5

**Fairy Tale**

Chapter 5

"Pein? Pein! Wake up! It's already time to leave!" Xemnas pounded on Pein's bedroom door. "Wha…?" Pein sat up in bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He must've fallen asleep. "Pein! We're going to the Christmas Ball already!" Xemnas called. "WHAT!?" Pein scrambled to get out of bed and get dressed. He brushed his teeth and combed his hair, even though his hair wouldn't stay in one place.

Xemnas opened the door and let himself in after Pein had gotten dressed. "To relieve you of stress, the guys and I've come up with a plan to get you in." he said. "For your sweetheart –heart-" Xemnas winked. "Shut up. I'm not going anyway." Pein said stupidly. "Oh? But you're already dressed up." Xemnas laughed at his expression. Pein blushed first, then cursed his way up, and then sighed. "Okay, so I am." He said, straightening his tie.

"Good."

-:-

Evening was hell at the castle. It was the time right before the Christmas Ball; the time where everyone had to make final adjustments to whatever they worked on. Then they all had to change into their good (or fancy) uniforms just to make a good impression on the other kingdoms. And those uniforms were itchy to no end.

Neji and Hinata were helping Konan with the dress she picked out. "It's frilly. I hate frilly." Konan said. "W-Well, the whole point of this Christmas Party is for you to find a proper… p-prince to marry." Hinata said. "Yes, Konan-sama. You need to look presentable for the other kingdoms. And your father, the King-" Neji was cut off by Konan's sudden outburst.

"Screw my father! I haven't seen him in 3 years, yet we still live in the same castle! If that isn't bad parenting, I don't know what is!" Konan shouted. Hinata hugged her. "It's alright. Neji-nii-san makes a better replacement, right?" she asked playfully. "I guess…" Konan hugged her back. They all laughed.

Then, Hiashi's voice sounded on the intercom. _"All staff please report to the Main Hall, please. Thank you."_

"Oh… Hinata, go tell Hiashi-san that we're still getting Konan-sama ready." Neji said. Hinata nodded and left the room.

--

On the way back, Hinata caught a glimpse of Deidara talking to another girl in the hallway. She moved to say hi, but saw that he was having a very good time talking to the girl, so she stayed silent. She walked back to Konan's room, a somewhat confusing feeling of sadness in her heart. _Why does it matter to me if Deidara-kun talks to other girls? It's none of my business…_ she told herself.

_I say that, yet I still feel sad…_

When Hinata arrived at Konan's room, Neji had already started on the hair accessories. Well, more like started to argue with Konan about having nothing but a flower in her hair.

"Konan-sama, please! You need to put something other than a flower on your head! I'm sure you'd look pretty with this pin I found in your never used jewelry box!" Neji said, trying to find a place to put the pin.

"NO!! I'm not ditching my flower for a stupid pin!" Konan protested. "B-But Konan-sama, I picked this out just for this occasion!" Neji pleaded. "HINATA!!" They both suddenly shouted at her. "TELL ME WHAT TO PUT IN HER (MY) HAIR!!" They both demanded at the same time.

"U-Uh…" Hinata looked at Neji and then Konan. Both of them had an angry pleading look in their eyes. But Konan won. "Y-You should respect K-Konan's wishes…?" Hinata said. Neji sighed in defeat. "Alright, Hinata… whatever you –And Konan-sama- say." He said. "At least let me choose where to put it." He added.

Konan shot Hinata another pleading look. _He's your cousin/brother/whatever. Tell him if it's the flower, it's on the right._ It said. "N-Neji-nii-san, the flower belongs on the right." Hinata said. Neji sighed again, and put the flower on its rightful place on Konan's head.

"All is right with the world." Konan sighed.

-:-

"All is wrong with the world." Pein grumbled, hiding his head in the cloak Xemnas told him to wear. (A/N: It's the Organization XIII cloak XD) "Xemnas, this cloak is _gay_! It's too skin-tight, and the hood's too small for my wild hair! I hate it!" Pein complained. 

"Do you wanna get caught? We're waiting for your brothers to come so that you can sneak in with them!" Xemnas whispered harshly. "Asshole…" Pein muttered under his breath.

Xemnas whacked Pein in the arm. "Here they come!" He said. "That HURT, Mansex!" Pein almost shouted.

Pein looked from the bushes on the hill to his five older brother. He glared at Dein. _Something doesn't seem right with him. What's he up to?_ He was pulled from his thoughts when suddenly, Xemnas pushed them down from the hill they were on. Pein felt in his pocket something fold like paper. _Did he sneak me an invitation!?_

He rolled right behind Dein in the line they were in. "Who's there?" Dein asked, a little annoyed. "Shut up, Dein. Just go with the flow." Pein said on reflex. _Damn, stupid reflexes… of course he's not gonna keep me a secret!_ "Hmm… alright, just this once." Dein agreed. "R-Really? I mean, Good. Glad doing business with you…?" Pein said.

_Once I get inside, I'll ask Konan to kindly get the hell out of my head._ Pein thought triumphantly.

--

"I knew he'd know what to do. Who now owes me Five bucks?" Xemnas asked. Hidan cursed and handed him a five dollar bill. "Stupid bet…" He muttered. Everyone snickered at him.

"Hey, Pein's in. We should go too." Itachi said.

"H-Hey! What about me? That was my invitation that Pein-san went with!" Tobi asked. "… We all decided it best that you not come, Tobi." Itachi said. "… That's cruel." Tobi sobbed. "Well, I'm not a nice guy."

--

A guard asked Pein for his invitation. He pilled out the crumpled piece of paper and handed it to the guard. He shoved it in the guys face and went into the castle.

Pein removed the hood of his cloak and looked at the filled main hall. _So many people… how am I supposed to find Konan in this place?_ He mentally groaned. He decided to just wait for the others to come before he went anywhere.

-:-

"K-Konan…" Hinata said. It was 5 minutes until Konan had to leave for the whole Christmas Party. "Hm?" But Konan always made time for her best buddy. "I-It's about D-Deidara-kun…" Hinata whispered.

Konan put a hand on her shoulder. "Hinata, if he was talking to another girl, then he was just talking with another girl. I'm sure it doesn't mean anything." She said. "H-How did you…?" Hinata began. "Your eyes told me." The two stayed silent until Neji told Konan to get moving to the main hall. "Well, good luck with Deidara, alright?" Konan patted Hinata's shoulder once and left for the Party.

_Right… he's just talking to other people…_ Hinata told herself. But she already knew that deep down, she wanted him to look only at her.

Hinata scurried to the main hall as well when she saw a few people pass her by.

--

Konan sighed. _Great. I've given Hinata all the luck I could possibly have and didn't leave any luck for me. I'm going to freaking choose myself a husband for god's sake! I need all the luck I can get!_ She felt a hand clasp her shoulder. "Konan-sama, I hope you find the right guy." It was Neji. And it looked like he was about to sob his eyes out. "Konan-sama is all grown up now… -sniff-…" Konan smiled. "I'll be fine. I'll reject every guy in the castle if he's not the right guy." That reassured Neji, even a little bit.

With that, Konan took a big deep breath, and walked out to the thrones. She looked to her side and noticed that her father wasn't on his throne… again. _Probably forgot about the whole thing…_ What should she do now? Usually it would be the king (that was never there) that would start everything. _Sigh… I guess I'll have to start… like every other party we've held…_

Konan stood up. "ALRIGHT PEOPLE, All you young Princes may come up and audition to be my husband and I will kindly turn you down." She clapped her hands twice. A small rush of giggles was heard over the crowd.

_Konan, what do you think you're going?_ Hinata laughed to herself. She watched as Neji and Hiashi walked up to scold her for her behavior, and Hiashi re-started the whole thing again.

Hinata walked into the crowd, asking if the people needed assistance. But none of them needed any, so she ended up on the other side of the whole room. _I wonder if Deidara-kun confessed to the girl he likes yet…_ she thought to herself.

-:-

When Konan walked out from the sidelines, Pein almost called out, "KO-" Until a hand slammed over his mouth and pulled him down. "What the hell do you think you're doing!?" Xemnas asked angrily. "Let go of me!" Pein shook off Xemnas' grasp. "Why can't I go up to Konan?" he asked. Itachi told them to settle the matter in a less crowded place.

They decided on the hallway. "Alright, why can't I go up to Konan? I have a very important question for her." Pein said. "Because, she's a princess. And you're not a prince anymore." Xemnas explained. "Then tell me a way when I can talk to her alone." Pein demanded. "You'll have to figure that out yourself." Xemnas said. Oh how much Pein felt like punching him right now.

-:-

_I wonder if Hinata confessed to the guy she likes yet…_ Deidara thought. He was shirking his responsibilities as a butler and hanging around in the lounge. _Lucky bastard…_ Deidara let out a long and tired sigh. _I wonder where she is right now…_

It was odd, how he said that he wanted to confess to her tonight but didn't move a muscle to get right on it. Procrastinator for life, as he'd say. He shook his head. _No! If I love Hinata the way I hope I do, I'll have to look for her and confess as soon as I can!_ With a new spur of confidence burning within him, he ran out to the Main Hall to find Hinata.

His confidence was thrown out the window when he saw how big the crowd in the Main hall was. It'd be close to impossible to find Hinata in all this mess. _Damn._

Deidara told a random staff member to find Hinata and tell her to meet him on the balcony on the 2nd floor. As far as he knew, almost no one was on the 2nd floor.

--

A well known man named Shino tapped Hinata on the shoulder. "Hinata. The new guy wants you to meet him on the 2nd floor balcony." He said. "Why?" Hinata asked. "I dunno. He said it was urgent, though." Shino said, watching her turn about two shades of red. "A-Alright, th-thank you, Shino-kun." Hinata scurried down the hall and up the stairs in a hurry.

-:-

Konan sighed. "It's like this _every_ party." She said. She walked down a hallway and noticed three guys talking. One of them noticed her, and told one other guy to leave. The guy that was left turned around.

"Konan!" His voice sounded familiar. He walked towards her and grabbed her arm. "What?" Konan asked. She knew now, his name was Pein. "I need to know!" Pein yelled. "Know what? And lower the volume please, you're loud enough as it is." Konan said.

Pein put both hands on her shoulders. "I need to know." He said again. "Know what?" Konan asked again. "Why haven't you left my mind yet? Why do you constantly invade the privacy of my own thoughts?" He asked. "What are you talking about?" Konan asked. "Lately, I've been thinking of nothing but you. Do you know why?" Pein asked, his grip on her shoulders tightening slightly.

Konan looked away. "How should I know? It's your mind." She said. Without warning, Pein slammed his lips against hers. He pulled away and leaned his forehead against hers. "What the hell was that?" Konan whispered.

"Konan… I think I'm in love with you." Pein whispered back.

-:-

Hinata quietly opened the door to the balcony. The second she stepped out, Deidara had her in a hug. "Ah! D-Deidara-kun!" She squeaked. "Hinata, I'm sure that you want your first kiss to be the guy you liked, but I hope you don't mind me instead." Deidara said, pressing his lips against hers. He pulled away and hugged her tighter.

"Deidara-kun…" Hinata sighed. "Hinata, I love you." Deidara whispered. He kissed her again. "I… I love you… too." Hinata said quietly.

They stayed silent for a while.

"Hinata?"

"Hm?"

"I kissed you just now…" Deidara said, trailing off.

"And?"

"Now… I think I _want_ you." Both of them turned red. Then they both laughed. "Let's not get too ahead of ourselves, alright?" Hinata said.

Deidara looked at his watch. Almost midnight. "Ah, Hinata. I think we have to go back to the party." He said, taking her hand and walking towards the door. But Hinata stopped him. "I want to stay here a bit longer." He gave her a confused look, but when she blushed, he got her point. "Uh… O-Okay, whatever you say, Hinata. Deidara pulled her towards him again and kissed her deeply.

Neji walked by the glass doors and saw Deidara and Hinata making out. "ACK!!" Just then, he freaked out and panicked until he fainted, turning bright red.

-:-

"…what?" Konan asked. "I think I'm in love with you." Pein said.

"Go Pein!" Xemnas cheered silently from the other side of the wall.

Pein pulled her into another kiss. "Ever since you spent the night at my house, I've never focused on one person for so long. And now I'm thinking its love." He said. Konan placed both her hands on his face. "When I had nothing to think about, I thought about you, too. Unfortunately, I had nothing else to think about." She laughed.

"Unfortunately?" he chuckled and kissed her again.

They stayed silent for a moment before Pein spoke up. "Don't you have a party to go to?" he asked.

Konan didn't answer. "Take me with you." She said. "What?" Pein asked. "I hate this place. Take me with you." Konan explained. "This is a little sudden, don't you think?" Pein said, pulling away from her. "Sorry… I was always thinking of running away from here, but my best friend lives here too…" Konan had a sad look in her eye.

Pein looked at her for a while. "Then take her with us." Konan looked up at him, a happy look on her face. "Really?" she asked, smiling. "…I know people. I can get us three a place of our own, and we can live there. If that works." Pein said, turning a hint of red. Konan hugged him.

"Can you make it for two people only?" she asked. "Why?" Pein gave her a confused look. "I think she had a boyfriend already. We can both sleep in one room and-" Pein just kissed her again. "Go pack up what you need and find your friend. I'll be waiting right here." He said.

When she left, Xemnas came out from where he was hiding. "What the hell is this all of a sudden!?" he yelled. "Good timing. Tell the others I'm finally out of their hair." Xemnas gave him a skeptical look. "Fine. Do as you wish. It was fun picking on you, fighting, but I guess its time to move on." He said. "Glad you understand." Pein said.

Behind the wall-

"YES!! FINALLY!! HE'S OUTTA HERE!!" Hidan cheered.

"Shut up, you want people to hear us?" Itachi asked angrily.

"Ah, someone found us." Kisame pointed to little Hanabi at the doorway. "A little girl, too." Hanabi huffed and kicked him in the shin. AAAAAAAAAAAUGH!! LITTLE BI-"

"I'M TELLING ON YOU GUYS!!" Hanabi ran off.

"…Great job, you angered her, _and_ made her go tell on us. Idiot." Itachi said, sighing in annoyance.

With Konan-

Konan just stuffed a bunch of jeans and shirts (and underwear, but you know) into a suitcase and left to find Hinata. She also changed into a pair herself, and put on an old worn out baseball cap. _Now to find Hinata._

She took a moment to focus on where Hinata might be, and summoned all her logic in her mind. Then, a light bulb shone above her head. "Second floor balcony!" …Amazing.

When she got there, carrying everything, she saw Neji on the ground. "Uh…" Looking out to the balcony, she saw Deidara and Hinata making out outside. _Hehe, I was riiight!_ She grinned.

Opening the door and stepping outside, Hinata and Deidara pulled apart. "K-Konan! Wh-What're you doing here?" Hinata asked, blushing. "I'm running away. Wanna come?" Konan asked. It took Hinata a moment to think it over, then looked at Deidara, who looked totally up for the idea. "If we all do, then we can start dating first, then find a job!" He smiled. Quite the optimist, huh?

"K-Konan, but… what about Neji-nii-san? And Father?" Hinata asked worriedly. She wanted to go, sure, but family was just as important as love. "… We can visit in secret. Leave Neji a note and tell him to meet us somewhere, yeah?" Deidara suggested. Konan noticed a shrub with auburn hair. "Ah, my ride's here. Come or go, write the note quickly now." She said.

"B-B-But…" Hinata glanced at Neji. "Uh…" She looked at Deidara, who magically had all his stuff packed. "A-Alright!" Hinata ripped off a piece of paper from a desk in the hallway.

_Neji-nii-san,_

_Meet me and Konan in the woods tomorrow. Don't tell anyone, okay?_

_Love, Hinata_

She shoved the note in Neji's pocket and left with Konan, Deidara, and Pein without a proper introduction. Maybe once they got settled, they'd get to know each other better…

-:-

When Neji woke up, he felt something crinkle in his pocket. "Huh?" He read the note and fainted again.

-:-

Omake Theatre: Xemnas

Xemnas is from the _Kingdom (of) Hearts._ He's Pein's friend and archrival. But since it's the holidays, there's no reason to fight. He's actually quite the gentleman.

That's all the time for today, Merry Christmas, and for those reading Childhood Memories 2, I'll get to that after finishing this story. Thanks.


	6. Chapter 6

**Fairy Tale**

Okay, after a very long time, I decide to update again! Huzzah!

Chapter 6

Somehow, Pein had found a place to live. Somehow, they can make it by with the money they had in their pockets. Somehow, no one came to look for them. Somehow, Pein's brothers, Xemnas, and the other Akatsukis are no longer relevant to the story. Somehow, they were all happy this way.

Somehow, it was tomorrow, the day when they were supposed to meet Neji Hyuga.

-:-

"Hinata!" Neji called when he saw her across the clearing. "Nii-san!" Hinata ran over to hug him. "D-Did you tell anyone?" she whispered to him. "No. After I read that note you left, I fainted again… so… not really." Neji said. Konan walked up to them, and immediately, Neji's eyes got watery. "Konan-sama…" He sobbed. Konan looked at him and realized he was ready to give her a bear hug. "Oh, no. No way!" she backed away slowly, but Neji already leapt and took her into a huge hug. "Aw, Konan-sama! I was so worried about you!! And I almost got fired, and… and… AND!!"

Konan managed to crawl out of his arms. "Neji." Neji kept saying 'and', switching between sobbing and the word. "NEJI!" Konan yelled. Neji stopped. "I came here to tell you that Me, Hinata, and Deidara are staying away from the castle." She said seriously. "B-But why?" Neji looked at Hinata. "U-Um… b-because… we were all getting tired of that castle…?" She said, playing with her fingers and blushing.

Deidara (along with Pein) were waiting on the sidelines. It took all Deidara had to not run over to Hinata and squish her into a hug; she was so cute. "Hina-chaaaaaaaan…" he squealed silently, making Pein's eye twitch.

After Konan explained everything, Neji finally understood their reasoning. But he still questioned it. "Okay, Konan, I understand. But Hinata? WHAT DID I DO WRONG!?" Neji clung to Hinata. "… Y-You didn't do anything… It's just that… We felt like moving out, that's all!" Hinata said, trying to push him off. He wouldn't budge.

Suddenly, Deidara got very pissed off. He took a (random) slingshot and shot it at Neji, aiming and hitting him square in the head. Deidara watched in satisfaction and smirked. Pein just watched.

Hinata looked back at Deidara, who just smiled and waved at her. Neji was knocked out on the ground. "Uh… Um…!" Hinata looked at Neji and then at Konan, who was walking away. "K-Konan! Wh-What do I do about him?" Hinata asked worriedly. Konan looked back at her with an evil look. "Leave 'im. He'd know better than to tell on us." Konan said, a small sparkle in her eye.

_That's my girl!_ Pein mentally cheered.

"Uh… O-Okay…! S-Sorry, Neji-nii-san!" Hinata scurried off behind Konan.

-:-

"**So, kids, how was the party?" **Dad asked, sounding strangely like a father (something he never does). "Uh… It was… good…?" Dein said, shrugging his shoulders. **"Oh? Is that all? What happened?"** Okay, now his fatherly tone was getting scary. It was almost like he was suspecting something. **"Did you see anybody familiar?"**

The guys shook their heads. **"Not even a teensy bit?" **Dad asked. **"No one by the name of… 'Pein', perhaps?" **the chair he was sitting in tilted back far enough so that you could see the dark black of his hair. "…Maybe." Dein said. "What about Pein?" he asked.

"**I want you guys to find him and bring him back home. I miss the poor boy."** Dad said, chuckling a bit. **"It's okay if only one of you goes, I just want my dear youngest son back."** There was a long silence between them. It was clear that Dad wanted to punish Pein, finally, after all these years. What the scary part was whether or not whatever he was cracking up in his head would be enough for Pein to actually scream.

-:-

Dein's footsteps crunched loudly in the snow. Somehow, he had located his younger brother at his new house. It was decided that Dein would be the one to fetch Pein.

He knocked on the door twice, and the door opened. A long blue-haired girl answered the door. "H-Hello?" she peeked her head out the door and saw Dein. He turned a light shade of pink. "Hello… uh… I'm Pein's brother, Dein. Nice to meet you." He held out his hand for a hand shake. Hinata smiled, making his heart melt. "I'm Hinata Hyuga! Won't you come inside? It's cold out." She opened the door a little wider and let him in.

Just then Pein walked out of the shower. He saw Dein at the door and jumped in surprise, his towel almost falling. "Hinata! Get away from him! The guy standing there is a complete and total asshole!" Pein shouted. "Huh?" Hinata said, confused.

"Come on, don't be rude to the first guest ever in this house…" Konan leaned out from the bedroom doorway and saw Dein at the door. "Who's that?" she asked. "My brother." Pein answered. There was a short pause, and then, "Hinata! Get away from him! That guy's a complete and total asshole!" she shouted. "Eh!?" Hinata said again, even more confused than before.

"Come, now, don't you think that's a little rude?" Dein said, placing a hand on Hinata's shoulder. "By the way, I've never met you personally before, so how do you know about me, Konan?" he added. "I can tell you're an asshole because Pein here's the same." Konan said. "Hey!" Pein shouted. "I'm nothing like him!" Dein said, offended.

Deidara leaned on his chair and poked his head out of the bedroom. He burst in a fit of rage when he saw Dein's hand on Hinata's shoulder. "ILLEGAL!!" he shouted, running over to chop his hand off. Hinata told him to calm down, so instead of chopping off Dein's hand, he crashed into Hinata instead. He turned around and hissed at Dein. "Illegal!"

_Illegal?_ Pein and Konan thought, giving him weird looks.

Getting back to the point, Pein asked, "Dein, what the hell are you doing here?" Dein told him to get changed first, then he'd tell him. When he got back, everyone gathered into the living room to listen. Well, Deidara was there in case Dein decided to put the moves on Hinata. At least half of him was listening, right? Hehehe… heh… aw…

"Pein, Dad wants you back at the castle." Dein settled for that to be the starting sentence. "Why?" Pein asked. "He said, quote and unquote, 'I just want my dear youngest son back.'" The room was silent. Somehow, all of them knew that Pein's dad would never say something that… family-like. "…Really?" Pein asked skeptically.

"But the thing is, I think he's up to something, y'know? Like… he wants to kill you or something." Dein said. "Well, why'd you tell me this? It's not like we're best friends." Pein gave him a suspicious look. "Please. I see that only as sibling rivalry. I've always loved you as a brother. It's just that I hate you as everything else." Dein explained.

Pein stared at him for a second. Dein didn't stare back. Instead, he was looking straight at Hinata. "You're so pretty, Hinata-san." He said. "Um, th-thank you very much, D-Dein-san." Dein had a grin on his face. "Y-You're pretty… too?" she said almost questioningly. Konan snorted, holding back a fit of laughter. "Yes, Dein, you're very pretty." She muttered, making Pein laugh a little as well. Dein glared at them. "Thank you…?" Deidara was glaring at him.

Dein looked at the clock. "Oh, we'd better get going, Pein. Pack up, I'm taking you home." He said, standing up. "What?" Konan asked. "You can't just take him away."

"Um… P-Pein-san belongs h-here. Can't you figure something out so he won't have to leave?" Hinata spoke up. Looking at her pleading face, Dein immediately thought of another option. "I could come back tomorrow to give him time to pack his things, if you like." He smiled. "Th-That's not…" Dein waved and closed the door behind him when he left.

Pein was silent for a minute. Konan put a hand on his shoulder. "Wow… that's as random as things get here, isn't it?" Pein said, laughing a little. "Oh, come on. You're not actually gonna go back to your abusive dad, are you?" Konan asked. "I bet he's gonna send all 5 of my brothers next time to get me." Pein waited for a reply. He had that look on his face, and Konan knew just what to say. "Well, Whaddaya say?"

"I say, BRING IT ON!!" Pein let out a confident laugh. "Go Pein-san!" Hinata cheered, laughing a bit.

**Stay tuned, Pein vs. Dein somewhere in this chapter… I hope.**

-:-

Pein opened his closet and walked in. There were shuffling noises, and then smoke escaped from within. Konan sat on the bed and watched. When Pein came back, he was wearing a camouflage military uniform with a gun in his hand. "…When'd you join the military?" Konan asked. "I didn't. I made this some Halloween ago… I don't remember. But I know it was of some kind of importance."

"Well why are you wearing it?" Konan asked. "This is a war between me and dad! I'm just playing the part, Konan." Pein said knowingly, striking a pose. Konan laughed when the helmet fell over his eyes. "That was meant to happen. Fools the enemy into thinking you're, uh… weak! Then, when they get too cocky, WHAM!" Pein accidentally tripped and fell to the ground.

Konan walked over to him. "How is that possible, tripping on absolutely nothing?" she laughed, helping him up to his feet. Instead of regaining his balance, he pulled Konan into a kiss. "I always feel good whenever I kiss you." He said, hugging her. "I've always loved a man in uniform…" Konan whispered suggestively. "Really?" Pein asked. "No. But, damn, you look good in that." Konan kissed him.

"Wait, what kind of guy _did_ you like. You know, before me." Pein asked. "Why?" Konan asked. "Curiosity." Pein said. "Well, I like the kind of guy that's fun to make fun of." Konan said. The two stayed silent. "Oh just shut up and kiss me!" Konan pulled on his shirt and made their lips meet. Pein immediately caught on and kissed her back, falling back onto the bed.

"Wanna do it?" he asked. "Maybe." Konan laughed a little as Pein turned off the light.

--

"What was with that guy!? He was so coming on to you!" Deidara yelled angrily as he and Hinata were getting ready for bed. "And it was _so_ clear that you were already mine! What, was he _trying_ to piss me off? Aargh!" he pulled at his hair in frustration. "I'm sure that he was just joking…" Hinata said, trying to calm him down. Deidara turned around to face her. "From now on, you're only mine. No other man can ever touch you unless I have anything to say about it." Hinata giggled. "What? I'm totally serious!"

Hinata walked over and hugged him. "I had no idea you were so possessive of me. It makes me feel happy." She kissed him. "Okay. I'm only yours." She said. "That's right." Deidara said, leaning down to kiss her again. This time, he didn't pull away. He led her to the bed, only letting go for a second for air. He sucked on her neck, making her moan softly. His hand traveled up her shirt and onto per breast. "Mm…D-Deidara-kun… w-wait a… second." She whispered, gently patting his back.

Deidara looked at her. "Aww… why not? You said it yourself, you're mine, remember?" he kissed her again. "Yeah, but… I don't think I'm ready for _that_ yet." Hinata hugged him. "But when _are_ you gonna be ready? I've been itching to do it with you for a looong time." Deidara gave her a pleading look. Hinata kissed him. "Maybe next time, okay?" she crawled under the covers, resting her head on the pillow. "Good night."

"Well, don't you ever want to do it with me sometimes?" Deidara asked, crawling under the covers beside her. "All the time." Hinata answered. For a second, Deidara looked surprised. Hinata rolled over to face him. "It's just that I have a little more self control than you do." Deidara folded his arms and huffed, a disappointed and annoyed look on his face. "Well, for understanding how I feel, you get to kiss me however you want."

Deidara brightened up. "Right now?" he asked. Hinata nodded. "I love you!" he slammed his lips against hers and thrust his tongue into her mouth. She was surprised at first, but melted into the kiss all the same. Their tongues wrestled until both of them parted for air. They panted heavily, leaning on each other for support. "Again?" Deidara asked. "Please." Hinata and Deidara kissed again.

-:-

"**Dein, since he resisted, you shall go back and challenge him. The stakes are, if he loses, he comes back home for punishment. If he wins, he can stay. Simple as that."** Dad said. It was almost like he knew this would happen. "How do I challenge him? Fight, gamble, or something else?" Dein asked. **"… A video game."**

Behind him, Dein's brothers snickered at him. They all knew he sucked at video games. Again, it was almost as if Dad _knew_ everything. Maybe he did. **"Do you accept?" **he asked. _How couldn't I?_ Dein nodded. "Yeah."

-:-

Dein came back to the house like he promised. Only this time, in his hands, he held a PS2, and an anime fighting game. Pein immediately knew that the challenge wasn't like he thought it would be and quickly changed out of the military outfit. Quickly walking out of the bedroom, he walked up to Dein in an almost professional manner. Konan held back a few laughs.

"Dein." Pein said.

"Pein." Dein nodded to him. "Dad told me to bring you back home after kicking your ass in a video game. I don't know why –he knows I suck at video games…"

"Well then, if this is all he's got, then I'm never gonna go home!" Pein grinned, plugging in the game console and putting in the game. He threw Dein a controller and sat down on the couch. "Come on, we can go over the basics of a fighting game, if you want. Newb." Pein said mockingly. Dein growled as he sat down beside Pein. "I already know the controls…" he murmured, starting the game.

A few hours later…

Konan had fallen asleep. She woke up in annoyance because of all the fighting noises. "Can't you two find a less annoying-sounding thing to settle this?" she groaned, turning to the other side of the couch. "Sorry, Dad's orders." Dein quickly replied. "Dammit, Dein! Stop being a good Budokai fighter!" Pein shouted. 'Budokai' is a DragonBall Z fighting game. 'Budokai Fighter' is a term that Pein made up himself.

Konan sighed and left the living room and into the kitchen to get a glass of water. "Konan, can you get me a glass of water, too?" Dein called. "GET IT YOURSELF, ASSHOLE!" Konan shouted at him. "Konan, I wanna glass of water, please!" Pein called. "Yes, dear." Konan said sweetly. Dein stopped to give her a 'what the hell?' look.

A glass of water was placed beside both of them. Dein looked up at Konan. "…" for some reason, she was glaring at him. "Keep the cup." She growled at him. Walking over to Pein, she kissed him on the cheek. "Don't let that bastard touch the water jug, it's the only one we have." She said, leaving to go to the bedroom.

Again, a few more hours later, it was almost dinnertime. Hinata invited Dein to eat, but he kindly refused, saying that he couldn't possibly impose on his dear brother's meal. Pein called him a prick.

"Dein, I'm gonna finish you off after this round, then I'm gonna kick you out and eat dinner." Pein declared. A few minutes later, he fulfilled his promise. "Shit! I almost had you that time!" Dein shouted in defeat. "Haha! Now I can eat dinner in peace!" Pein said happily.

The living room was silent; other than the noises in the kitchen. Pein was waiting for Dein to leave, but the two stayed in place. "Well? Aren't you gonna go report to Dad or something?" Pein asked. "Are you kidding? Dad expected nothing but victory from me! I can't go back telling him that I _lost_! He'd kill me!" Dein replied. "That's not my problem!"

"Dein-san, if you can't go home, won't you have dinner with us?" Hinata offered. "Of _course_, Hinata-san!" Dein said, brightening up and walking into the kitchen. Pein stared after him in annoyance. When he himself went to the kitchen, he growled when he saw that Dein took his seat. Not only that, but he took his seat's chair and scooted it next to Hinata. What the hell?

"DEIN!! OUTTA MY CHAIR!!" Pein yelled, shoving Dein over and taking the chair to the space where it belonged. "Where am I supposed to sit?" Dein asked angrily. "U-Um, we have extra chairs in the closet!" Hinata said, trying to stop Pein and Dein from fighting in the kitchen.

Deidara scooted Hinata's chair closer to him when Hinata left for the extra chair. When she came back, she looked confused for a second, but when she heard Deidara growl angrily at Dein, she couldn't help but laugh a little. "H-Here you go, Dein-san."

"Thank you very much, Hinata-san!" Dein said, smiling widely.

That evening, the house had the loudest (and most violent) dinner ever. :D

-:-

Flirting, that's all it ever will be. Flirting.


End file.
